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Karnataka Planters' Association challenges draft Western Ghats ESA, cites coffee and spice risks
Reported by Pooja Nair (Section Editor) · The Hindu - Business ·
Reported by one source so far
Karnataka Planters' Association (KPA) has formally objected to the Centre’s draft Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) notification ahead of its annual meeting in Chikmagaluru. President Salman Baseer urged the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to consider the association’s submissions dating back to 2012. The draft aims to protect 56,825.7 sq km of the mountain range across six states, but Karnataka, Kerala and Goa argue that satellite mapping wrongly includes villages, infrastructure and private patta lands, threatening local livelihoods. Anil Mathew, vice‑president of the United Planters' Association of South India, flagged a lack of clarity: the preamble allows agricultural use but the operative part does not. He asked for an explicit non‑restrictive clause for farming. KPA also seeks exemptions for eco‑friendly estate processing, regulated local resource extraction and captive renewable energy. On the commodity side, the USDA projects global coffee output for 2025‑26 at 178.83 million bags, a rise of 2 million bags. Karnataka supplies 71 % of India’s coffee and 72 % of its exports, with the Coffee Board’s post‑blossom target set at 2.79 lakh MT. Baseer warned that erratic rain, uneven monsoons and new pest pressures could cut the final harvest, especially for Arabica. India’s black pepper output fell 10.5 % to 93,716 tonnes in 2025, yet Karnataka still produced 63,387 tonnes (67.6 % of the nation) despite a 4 % local dip, pushing farm‑gate prices from ₹697.30/kg in 2025 to ₹718.32/kg in early 2026. Green cardamom production recovered 19.4 % to 24,715 tonnes in 2025‑26, with Karnataka’s share rising 5.2 % to 949 tonnes. A severe 11.9 % drop in Guatemala’s output created a windfall for Indian exporters; cardamom exports hit 15,000 tonnes valued at ₹3,671.98 crore, a 134.4 % earnings jump, and domestic auction prices held at ₹2,534.08/kg.
Context
The ESA draft is part of a broader effort to safeguard biodiversity in the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Farmers fear that without clear agricultural safeguards, the protection rules could restrict traditional farming and processing activities that sustain rural economies.
ExplainerWhy this matters
What Happened
The Centre released a draft notification to declare large parts of the Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area. Farmers’ groups, led by the Karnataka Planters' Association and the United Planters' Association of South India, protested, saying the draft does not clearly protect agricultural land and wrongly includes villages and private lands.
Why It Matters
The Western Ghats host a large share of India's coffee, pepper and cardamom farms. If the ESA rules restrict farming or processing, growers could lose income and the region’s supply of these spices could shrink. At the same time, global coffee output is rising, and a drop in Indian harvests could affect export earnings. Pepper and cardamom prices are already high, and tighter rules could push them even higher, affecting both farmers and consumers.
What Happens Next
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change will review the objections and may amend the operative part of the notification to include a clear clause for agricultural use. Until then, growers are likely to continue lobbying and may seek legal relief to protect their operations.
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